With a twist of his strong arms, they rolled and she ended up underneath him with his cock still buried deep inside her molten pussy. The awesome plug remained in place, too. The combination was better than she had imagined.
“Good girl,” he panted. “Now, it’s my turn.”
She sank into the mattress and relinquished herself to him. He relied on long strokes of his cock rather than speed and the slow pace was deliciously agonizing, especially accompanied by his kisses and caresses. Galen was happy to spoil her with a leisurely fuck and when he pumped his milk, his potentially fertile seed, deep in her pussy, she replied with another orgasm of her own. Its intensity weakened her so much, she remembered little of his gentle bathing.
Later, after they’d slept in each other’s arms, she stirred and moved away from the heat of his body. In his sleep, the tattoo had transformed into the bear. Outside it was dark; the night was still young. Where now? Was she truly going to give up her family and her friends to be his mate? Was she prepared for this way of life and did she have all the answers she needed to survive it?
He murmured, lifting his head off the pillow. “Zara?”
“Galen,” she replied.
“Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay.” He spooned her body around her.
“What if we’re wrong? What if humans and Vendu aren’t meant to be together?”
“I’ll prove it to you,” he said, stroking his hand down her thigh. “We’ll go and meet them.”
“Who?” she asked.
“You’ll find out.” He yawned. “Go to sleep, little human.”
She couldn’t fight the fatigue any longer and she obeyed him, as she knew she must.
Epilogue
Zara couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful woman sitting opposite her—the wife of the governor. Freya wore a flowing dress that covered her swollen belly. She looked marvelous. Zara smiled nervously. Between them on the floor crawled a baby boy. He meandered around their feet before settling on his bottom. The child picked up a small ball and chewed on it.
Galen stirred in his chair. He’d been staring at the baby. “It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Freya,” he said.
“Oh, the honor is mine, Lord Galen,” replied Freya. “I’m so sorry that the governor is late. It’s not like him to be tardy. Marco is a busy man.”
“He’s done well since he returned from running the penal colony.” Galen had told Zara how much he admired the governor of New Sydney. The palace where Marco lived was next to the old opera house, one of a few buildings the Vendu had kept intact after their invasion decades ago.
Zara was aware that Marco had once been the governor of a penal colony on a distant planet and that Freya had been sent there as punishment for spying on the Vendu. She’d been wrongfully convicted and eventually freed, but not before she’d fallen in love with the governor, who’d chosen her as his personal mistress, then wife.
This couple had brought out into the open what the Vendu had suspected for decades—humans and Vendu were compatible. With the truth out, they could no longer hide their biggest problem: the Vendu needed to breed with aliens to save their species from extinction. In a matter of a few centuries, they would not have enough people to survive because the Empire had spread themselves across so many planets and systems.
Freya was the first human to give birth to a hybrid and now she was pregnant once again.
Zara cleared her throat. “Was it a difficult birth?”
Freya laughed. “Oh, no. No more than any other birth, I guess. I had plenty of doctors keeping an eye on me. Tobias popped out without any fuss. He’s a good baby.”
“What happens when he’s grown up?” Zara glanced at Galen, who remained fascinated by the baby, offering Tobias different toys when he whined. She wasn’t sure if Galen had spent any time with a young child before now. His interest was promising. She wanted him to be the kind of father who would be involved with their children’s upbringing, like her own beloved dad.
“He’ll choose whether he wants to stay on Earth or go somewhere else in the Empire,” Freya replied. “It is his choice. Marco and I are agreed on this. The Empire cannot force him to leave if he chooses to live among humans.”
“It would be so much easier if we all lived together and understood each other’s ways.”
“One day that will happen,” boomed a man’s voice from behind her. The governor was as tall and striking as Galen. They rose to greet him, as did his wife. Marco helped Freya to her feet, kissed her lips, then eased her down again. Marco settled in a seat next to Freya and smiled at his son, who continued to play on the marble floor. “Things take time. Especially for the Vendu. It was only a thousand years ago that the Vendu recognized the concept of love.”
“I don’t understand,” said Zara. “Hasn’t there always been love among your people?”
Galen took her hand. “It was seen as a weakness. That was until a certain princess gave herself to a warrior. She fell in love with him and he did, too. When her ordeal was over, she stayed with him and he declared that love should flourish among the Vendu. This love ended years of war between the tribes of the Vendu and established the emperor as the absolute ruler.”
“You’re talking about Brynt and Astra, aren’t you?”
Galen nodded. “Yes. The Ordeal of Astra brought a great change to our people. Warriors became lovers and women were no longer treated as breeders. However, we still have much to learn from humans. Marriage or life partners are rare for Vendu, but we do recognize the power of love and its importance for stability. In return, we can continue to give Earth the technology it needs to harness energy and resources. And, the agreement extends to medical knowledge.”